WARNING: This chapter does contain implied blood (just a scratch, so nothing too major).

Em took a deep breath as she landed beside a cavern. She knew it was the cavern Nova Terron was talking about. It was infamous in Rudick's Hollow for being almost ready to cave in at any moment. That, along with the fact that it was far enough away from the village that any cave-ins would likely go unheard, made it very dangerous. She promised her dad that she would never go in there, The dark night sky also didn't make Em feel better, as that meant that, should the cavern cave-in, there likely wouldn't be anyone around to help her.

"I have to do this," Em said as she walked into the cave.

While walking in the cave, she kept her sword out in front of her. It was highly possible that a diamondback cave crawler would be there, and she didn't think she could face one all alone.

It was quiet in the cave as Em tried to fight off any thoughts of dangerous creatures or cave-ins. While she had grown up around mines, she knew the cavern she was in was considered one of the most dangerous ones.

Her thoughts also fell on what Piper had said earlier about not wanting to be a Mysticon if they didn't save Zarya. A part of her wanted to believe that the young elf didn't mean it. After all, Piper was generally so happy. Then again, losing Zarya might push her over the edge. And she did talk about wishing that they weren't Mysticons once before when Drake City increased its surveillance due to Necrafa. While Em didn't think much of her friend's story at the time, she felt as though it was a warning that Piper had her limits. And Piper wasn't the only one Em was worried about.

"Em," a familiar male voice behind her said, interrupting her thoughts.

Em jumped at the sound and turned around. Her dad was standing there, wearing a backpack with a rope attached to the side and holding a flashlight.

"Dad!" Em said. "What are you doing here?"

"Queen Goodfey called me," Malachite said. "She told me you'd be here."

"I know I broke your rule about coming here, especially since you don't like people going into mines alone in general," Em said. "And I'm sorry for that, but I have a very good reason for..."

Malachite raised his arm, interrupting Em. "There's no need to explain. She explained everything."

"So you're not mad?" Em asked.

Malachite sighed. "I wish that you did have someone with you," he said. "But I know that I would have done the same thing." He adjusted his backpack. "Now, let's find that Zil moss."

Em smiled as she and her dad walked down the cavern. It was nice to have someone there to help her.

"How are you doing?" Malachite asked after walking for a bit.

"I'm fine," Em said. "I've been in caves before." She decided to leave out how scared she was to be walking in the cave alone, as she didn't want her dad to worry about her.

"I mean about Zarya being cursed," Malachite said.

Em was surprised by the question. Her dad was never really that interested in emotional talks, leaving that mostly to his wife.

"I'm hanging in there," Em said. "But I'm worried about Piper and Arkayna, Piper seems really shaken up by all of this, and after what happened to Arkayna's parents, it would be hard for her to lose another family member."

"And you're worried to, aren't you?" Malachite said.

"Yeah," Em said, her voice breaking. "Zarya seemed in a lot of pain when we left, and we really don't know how long we have to reverse the spell." Tears began to fall from her eyes.

"We will find the Zil moss," Malachite said. "And you and the others will save Zarya." There was a pause. "Besides, I smell the Zil Moss nearby."

Em smelled the air. There was a strong, sour scent. "Is that the Zil moss?" While Nova Terron described what it looked like, he didn't mention any scent.

"Yes," Malachite said, "It should be close."

Em looked around. While she couldn't see any moss, there was a small hole leading to a tunnel . The smell was stronger coming from there.

"I think it's through the hole," Em said. "I think I can fit through it."

"Be careful," Malachite warned, "It's too small for me, so you'd be on your own."

"I'll be fine," Em said as she put jer sword away and climbed into the hole. She crawled as fast as she could through the tunnel. She wasn't crawling for very long before the stone underneath her suddenly seemed to disappear, making her fall down with a scream. She landed after a short fall, and found herself in a small opening.

"Em!" Malachite cried out.

"I'm fine," Em said. She looked around and saw the Zil moss on the other side of the small opening, with an angry diamondback cave crawler standing between her and the moss. It let out a loud cry.

"N...nice wormie," Em said.

"What's going on down there?" Malachite asked.

"There's a diamondback cave crawler," Em said, just loud enough for Malachite to hear. "But there's also some Zil moss."

"I'll get you out of there," Malachite said. "We'll find the moss somewhere else."

Em knew that she had to get the moss quickly, so she decided to grab some before her dad found a way to get her out of the room. She ran towards the moss, staying as close to the sides of the small opening as possible. The cave crawler lunged at Em, narrowly missing the dwarf.

Just as Em finished grabbing the moss an putting it in a small bag she had in her pocket, she noticed movement behind her. She turned around and raised her shield just as the cave crawler was about to attack. The cave crawler hit the shield and bounced back.

Just as Em reached in her pocket to get her mech suit, she saw a rope fall through the hole she came through. The rope landed near the entrance, and Em knew that she would have to jump to reach it.

While the cave crawler was still dazed from hitting Em's shield, Em ran as fast as she could and jumped. Just as she grabbed the rope, the cave crawler lunged at Em. Em felt a scratch form on her leg as the cave crawler's attack ripped her uniform. The rope pulled upwards, and Em used it to climb through the hole and crawl back to where her dad was waiting.

"I got the moss," Em said.

Rocks started falling. "Now let's get out of here," Malachite said.

Em and Malachite hurried towards the cavern's entrance. Em raised a shield to protect them from the falling rocks until the stress of the falling rocks and the previous collision with the cave crawler caused the shield to break. Em felt her heart pound as she and her dad ran as fast as they could out of the cavern, escaping right before rocks sealed the entrance. For a minute, Em and her dad just stared at the pile of rocks as they caught their breath.

"That was close," Malachite said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Em said. "I just got a small scratch from the cave crawler, that's all."

Malachite used his flashlight to get a closer look at the scratch. "Doesn't look bad, but it should be bandaged, just in case."

"I'm fine," Em said, "I need to get the moss to the stronghold."

"Alright," Malachite said. "But I expect you to take care of the scratch when you get there."

"I promise," Em said.

"Now go save Zarya," Malachite said.